OSHA: Dollar General to Improve Workplace Safety, Pay $12M

Dollar General, a nationwide discount retailer, has agreed to make comprehensive workplace safety improvements in its stores nationwide and pay $12 million in penalties, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced.

The agreement resolves multiple OSHA investigations into alleged safety violations at various Dollar General locations, including:

• Blocked emergency exits
• Blocked electrical panels
• Blocked fire extinguishers, and
• Unsafe storage.

OSHA’s agreement aims to boost workplace safety

Under the settlement agreement, Dollar General must pay $12 million in penalties and implement companywide changes that make employee safety a top priority. The required safety improvements include:

• Establishing and maintaining an expanded safety structure and a more robust safety and health management system, including hiring additional safety managers.
• Significantly reducing inventory and increasing stocking efficiency to prevent blocked exits and unsafe storage of inventory. 
• Providing workplace safety and health training to both leadership and non-managerial employees. 
• Developing a workplace safety and health committee and encouraging employee participation.

The agreement also outlines how Dollar General must handle any future violations related to blocked exits, access to electrical panels and fire extinguishers, and improper inventory storage during the terms of the agreement.

Specifically, if Dollar General is cited for future violations, it must correct such hazards within 48 hours and submit proof that the hazards were corrected. Failure to do so may result in penalties of $100,000 per day, capped at $500,000.

Dollar General has already brought in a third-party consultant to identify hazards and a third-party auditor to conduct annual unannounced compliance audits. It has also established a new Safety Operations Center and maintained an anonymous hotline for reporting any workplace safety concerns. As part of the agreement, the company must monitor the outcomes of these measures and submit quarterly reports to OSHA.

“This agreement commits Dollar General to making worker safety a priority by implementing significant and systematic changes in its operations to improve accountability and compliance, and it gives Dollar General employees essential input on ensuring their own health and safety,” Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker said in a statement. “These changes help give peace of mind to thousands of workers, knowing that they are not risking their safety in their workplaces and that they will come home healthy at the end of each day.”

Info: DOL announces settlement with Dollar General requiring corporate-wide safety investments in stores nationwide, 7/11/24.